What kind of restaurants and food you can find in Japan?
This blog is for "Food Lovers" who are planning to travel in Japan, who are non-Japanese speakers living in Japan and all who are interested in food culture of Japan!
英語で日本の食文化を紹介するブログです。

9 posts from November 2010

30 November 2010

Makunouchi Bento (幕の内弁当) is a cateogry of bento (弁当) produced by professional catering services. It is available at many places, convenience stores, supermarkets, department stores and others during lunch and dinner time. No precise difinition of Makunouchi Bento but roughly the bento box is made from two major parts, rice and side dishes.

The history dates back to hundreds years ago and no one knows where it comes from actually. One story refers where the name Makunouchi Bento came....

Maku (幕) represents curtain of theatres and Makunouchi (幕の内) implies the word "between acts". Makunouchi bento is boxed meal taken by audiences or actors behind the scene during the interval of acts.

Here this is the "real" Makunouchi Bento at the National Theatre where Kabuki is often played.

The sushi rice balls are enough small to bite them easily. Side dishes are seasonal, all Japanese typical ones, tempura, boild vegetables, egg cake etc.

Inside the Kabuki theatare, several kinds of Makunouchi Bento could be available and choosen depending on ones appetite and favourie food. Normally Kabuki plays last for about 3 hours total from mid-day with one or two times break. So before or inbetween the play, Makunouchi Bento or others styles of meal is another joy for Kabuki watching.

28 November 2010

Hitsumabushi (櫃まぶし、ひつまぶし) is the local specialty of Nagoya and surroundings. It is grilled eel (うなぎ) on top of rice in a wooden box called "Hitsu" (櫃、ひつ). Grilled eel is referred as Kaba-yaki (かば焼, a style of grill with sweet sauce) and it can be often seen in other parts of Japan.

What is unique of Hitsumabushi is the way of having it after served. A smaller rice bowl is provided with the wooden container Hitsu and spices on a small plate. It is able to be enjoyed from the bowl by 3 different ways.

The first serving

Simply just eel and rice mixed.

The sweet sauce enhances the harmony

and it is enough good to complete the dish though...

The second serving,

from here it is different from ordinary eel with rice dish...

eel + rice + spice, here wasabi (わさび)

Again the sweet sauce creates a good match with hot fresh wasabi paste.

This is also far enough good to complete.

But we can try another way of enjoying it.

The third serving

eel + rice + spice, here wasabi (わさび)

+ hot water (could be Japanese bouillon at some restaurants)

= Ochazuke (お茶漬け) style

When it becomes like nice Japanese risotto, it is really easy to finish all!

Wasabiya provides not only typical Hitsumabushi with eel but also other versions of Hitsumabushi such as chiken and sea bream (鯛) instead of eel.

It is known that Hirumabushi was originally created by a Japanese restaurant called Atsuta Horaiken (あつた蓬莱軒), close to Atsuta shrine in Nagoya-city.

23 November 2010

Le Beurre Noisette, the well-known "Neo Bistro" in Paris opened its new and the first branch in Tokyo on September 2010.

"Neo Bistro" is, as per the restaurant's information, different from traditional bistro consisdered casual eating place but it is the place where fine cuisines inherited from Grandes maisons (luxury grand restaurants) are served at reasonable prices. sLe Beurre Noisette, whose chef had work experiences at a few of Michelin 3star restaurants, is one of the most popular among those Neo Bistros.

The unit in Tokyo is situated on the 12th floor of Ginza Mitsukoshi (銀座三越) department store.In the heart of Ginza, inside of the restaurant is decorated to bring atomosphere of

bistro in Paris".

Ginza Mitsukoshi recently completed a big renovation project is crowded with domestic and international tourists as well as local people especially during the weekend.

Luckly we could get a table infront of wine rakcs and next to the kitchen with glass window.

Our lunch was started with a glass of "Beaujolais nouveau 2010" and bread with noisette.

For me, this is the first time to taste the new wine made in 2010 since it is on sale last Thurseday. Uhhh it smell sweet flavour like strawberry jam, not too fresh.

This is the plate as my friend ordered as starter.

Remoulade of beets and smoke salmon. What a surprising color!

Pied de cochon (hand of pork) carpaccio, lentil with vinegar

My starter dish is not so beautiful in color.

It is tasty and deserves the name of "our specialty".

I believe the taste characteritic is close to Japanese one rather than typical French.

21 November 2010

Pudding (purin, プリン) has been loved by many people from kids to elder in Japan for long years. MARLOWE pudding became the top 1 on the survey among food and/or sweets specialists in Japan as their recommended pudding. (Nikkei April 2010)

It is not available in Tokyo and I took a journey to Zushi (逗子) where one of the shop branches is located.

MARLOWE started its main restauran in 1984 in Kanagawa. From the restaurant beatiful scene of sunset over Sagami bay and Mt. Fuji are available as well as fresh seafood and vegetables from the region.

MARLOWE pudding was originally provided as dessert at the restaurant. Now it becomes so poplular that the owner opened two "pudding shop" in the area.

What is different from ordinary pudding...

Made from good quality selected ingredients exclusive (fresh milk from Hokkaido, eggs of rich in Vitamin E, sugar, naturaly made vanilla beans), no addtives, no gelatin

What is unique ...in glass "beaker" special ordered and made by PYREX

It can be used as a measure cup after it is finished. Otherwise you can return the cups to the shop for re-use.

I tried 3 kinds of their pudding.

Hokkaido fresh cream pudding

The best sale puduct for 22years

It is very soft, not too sweets but with rich caramel and vanilla flovour.

It looks big volume but the staste is not so heavy.

It was not hard to finish a glass, inspite of the volume.

This is HELLO KITTY 35th anniversary version cup

Of course the cup can be used as tea-cup or beer mag after finished.

The custard pudding taste is softer than the first one.

It has less bitter in caramel. For kids this must be better not only because of the cute cup.

Kuro-mitsu (黒みつ black syrup) pudding

Kuro-mitsu flavour is not so obvious.

It seems to emphasize bitter caramel taste.

Again the big volume is not a problem and it is easy to finish or even you could feel having more...

The taste is never too sweet. It is simple but ones made from fresh good quality ingredients.

That is the reason MARLOWE pudding is recommendable to anyone, youg or old, even to ones who are not "sweet-lover".

The shop also offers other products such as cake, jam and fruites sauce.

Don't miss the fruites sauce that makes good match with MARLOWE pudding!

Unfortunately it is not available in Tokyo. The nearest pudding shop is at Sogo department in Yokohama. Othersise it can be ordered from online store within Japan. However surely I will come back and will have the pudding again. It is one of unforgettable experience...

16 November 2010

The Japanese casual meal is convererted to fashionable experience. It is not so often to be seen stylish modern Westernized cafe offering Japanese meal. It is likely to be pasta, sandwiches, pizza or French dishes served there. Here WIRED CAFE in Gotanda (五反田) is an exception.

Negitoro-don (ネギトロ丼) is a Japanese word representing rice bowl (丼) menu with negi (ネギ, Japanese leak) and minched Toro ( トロ, tuna or maguro). At WIRED CAFE in Gotanda, the menu is explained in English as "Avocado & Fresh Tuna Rice Bowl with Soft-boild egg". I believe that negitoro-don is relatively new as Japanese dishes. It is not rare to find "avocado" on the dish. Yes! Avocado is not Japnese food but is a good match with soya sauce and fresh tuna anyway. Maguro from Misaki (三崎), known as one of the best quality ones, is used as ingredient for negitoro-don at WIRED CAFE. The sauce soya with sawabi (わさび醤油) is simple but sufficient for the fresh tuna.

At a grance, it looks like a salad bowl. It is healty plate and you can enjoy traditional Japanese food at the same time in the stylish cafe with the latest modern music.

14 November 2010

It becomes cooler day by day in Tokyo. When chilly wind blows and it reminds us that the winter is just around the corner, we feel like having hot food more than a few weeks ago. Stuffed cabbage stew is one of such dishes.

Stuffed cabbage stew is not originally Japanese food but is from Europe. The one served at Acacia is unique and excellent homemade cooking. It is hard to identify from which country the cabbage stew is from.

It looks very simple only cabbage and soup.

The soup is thick and a bit creamy.

The flavour is rich, although I cannot imagine how it is made.

The blended flavour from different ingredients is complex.

It is the taste that I have never had before at any other restaurants.

Inside of the roll, minched meat with spices is fully stuffed.

At a look, the dish looked simple.

At the end, we found how much the taste is complex; cabbage, meat, consome soup, spices etc.

The set menu includes a rice bowl and two rolls of Stuffed cabbage stew.

Acacia oepned in 1963, almost a half century ago in Shinjuku. It keeps the homemade taste of stuffed cabbage until today. It is loved by people for that long time. Sometimes they makes a queue for waiting.

The restaurant's atomosphere is a good match with the food provided there. The retro-flavour interior decoration makes dinners feel romantic and nostalgia.

11 November 2010

Kagurazaka (神楽坂) is a quiete residential area in central Tokyo. It is also known as "French quarter" because of some French educational institutions located in the area. Consequently it is said that authentic French food are available at restaurants in Kagurazaka where French nationals are walking around more than in other places in Japan.

This cafe is not the exception. Cafe Creperie Le Bretagne, as the name shown, provides authentic galette (ガレット buckwheat crepe for meal not for dessert) and crepe (クレープ) both from Bretagne region in France.

The cafe has open terrace when the climature is appropriate. After welcomed by French staff, the interior decoration is lovely with wooden floor and funitures, porcelain displayed from the region. We must feel as if we visit Bretagne not the Asian cosmopolitan.

The ingredient choices offered as salty galette for lunch or snack is much enough and is hard to select just one or two; tomato, bacon, cheese, mushroom, onion, season's special etc... Crepe as dessert is also what cannot be missed. Galette is a good choice for light lunch or dinner during traveling, when you are tired to be filled up. But here you could not be reliefed in that way.

The cafe creperie is so popular to accommodate guests fully for lunch and dinner time. It might request you to wait for a while until ready to be served, especially lunch hours on weekend. Yes, it is worth waiting and enjoying strolling at Kagurazaka.

07 November 2010

Harumi Kurihara is one of the most well-known cookery writer based in Japan. I could say she is a Japanese version "Martha Stewart", though some people might have different image for them. Otherwise she might be described as the most famouse "housewife" in Japan. She leant her cooking ways from her mother and her dishes attracted many of home party guests brought by her husband in the broadcasting industry. Cooking style and dishes she introduced are throughly "homemade" receipi but ones loved by everyone.

In Yokohama, at a shopping complex not far from JR Yokohama station, a cafe produced by Harumi Kurihara offers dishes by her receipi.

On one weekend, I had lunch set called "Kamome lunch" (かもめランチ, named after from "seagull", the icon of Yokohama port).

How the lunch set is like is described on this blackboad.

I'll show the dishes with photos here...

One main dish (croquette), farmer's fresh salad, 3 small side dishes, rice and miso soup, pickles.

This is an "ideal" meal at home in Japan.

With more kinds of vegetables in different colors and in different ways of cooking,

it means a good balance in nutritional.

3 side dishes are small but never be just ordinary. Here is the world of Harumi Kurihara.

This is the way her receip make our life better and the reason why she is so popular among Japanese ladies across generations.

Other dishes are also ones introduced on her recepi books and basically are simple but something special and look much better than typical.

Lunch set includes dessert (sesami pudding for today) and Japanese grilled tea (originaly brended) selected from their drink list.

Yutori no kukan (ゆとりの空間) represents "comfortable space" in Japanese. That is what Ms. Kurihara would like to offer you everyone maybe.

The cafe provides dinner set menu as well, which is also "an ideal healty dinner" for Japanese and some a la carte dishes. What cannot be missed after a break at the cafe is a boutique attached to the cafe. Food ingredients and table wares used at the cafe are available at the boutique. They are produced or selected by Harumi Kurihara. Let's bring some of them to your home and cook the same plate you like at the cafe.

02 November 2010

In Marunouchi, the real centre of business in Japan, where head quaters offices of Japanese major enterprises are situated, the cafe's name is ironic as an "oasis" of the people working in the business district.

SO TIRED...

I am sure the shop master would not like the guests to say so when they leave the cozy and colourful cafe, filled with sunlight during day time. It is also discribed by the cafe producre as "fantasic dinnin cafe" for the iconic stained glass like colorful tall walls.

The cafe provides casual Chinese lunch as well as Western style plates. I do not know any other restaurant or cafe offering both Chinese noodles and American style pepper steak apart from family restaurants. It is fantastic when you are not able to agree with your partner or colleague for what kind of restaurant, especially Chinese or Western food to go for lunch together. You do not have to be split or do not have to be compromised. Or even at lunch time alone, you could try a combination of humbreger plus dim-sum.

Not only for lunch, unlike the name, SO TIRED is a good place for a break. Chinese dessert and coffee.